Video, photos: Jacksonville woman says rats took over 'luxury' apartment

NOTE: Apartment complex management has released a lengthy explanation about the issue and says they have offered to refund her security deposit and February rent to assist in a relocation. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to see their entire response. 

A Jacksonville woman said rats have taken over her family’s apartment in the Holiday Hill neighborhood.

“This is not my home it no more. The rats have took over,” Nene Moore said “They should start paying rent because this is their house. They are eating up all of our food. [They] are eating up everything the little that we do have left to our name.”

On Wednesday, Nene Moore took Action News Jax inside her home at the Shore House Apartment Complex, formerly known as Matthew Crossing.

“It's a concern because I have my mother who has health issues and I also have two little sisters who I have to look out for and take care of and they are terrified,” Moore said.

“They just don't get what people go through when you are terrified of rats jumping on you. They will chill and sit in your house like they don't care. They don't run. You throw stuff at them and they don't run. This is their house.”

Moore, who pays $895 a month in rent, said she started noticing the rats in January. She said the property manager called pest control and set up traps, but the problem persists.

“The rats own this home,” Moore said.

She said sometimes they are even forced to sleep in the car.

According to the website, Shore House is listed as “Jacksonville’s newest luxury apartment community.”

Moore said it’s anything but luxurious.

“It is shocking to me because there's nothing luxury about this apartment,” Moore said.

Moore said management offered to move her family into a new unit, but the rent was higher and she can’t afford that.

Action News Jax called the company that runs the property. A spokesperson for S2 Residential said they are trying to work with Moore to find a solution.

“Something needs to be done because I fear for my family's safety,” Moore said.

Until then, Moore said she is counting down the days to when her lease ends in April.

“This is no way that anyone should live at all,” Moore said.

Action News Jax reached out to the City of Jacksonville to see if any complaints have been filed against the complex and if there are any outstanding code enforcement issues. They said they are working on our request.

Response from S2 Residential, the company that runs Shore House: 

On January 25^th, Ms. Moore requested pest control service as she’d seen a rat.  As it was after 5pm, we placed Ms. Moore and her family into a hotel and reached out to our pest control provider. 

The following morning, the apartment was baited and treated, and our team entered to identify potential visible entry points.   The week of January 29^th, we offered Ms. Moore a transfer to another apartment within the community and/or we would release her from her obligation under the lease. 

In addition to the release we would refund her security deposit and February rent to assist in her relocation.  Ms. Moore’s refused both offers.  Since then, we’ve had representatives from our pest control company follow up twice per week to identify what more can be done.  

In order to see if we can eradicate the issue, we’ve worked closely with our pest control provider and team whereby they go to the apartment 2 to 3 times per week until Ms. Moore’s issue is resolved.   Our offer remains on the table for Ms. Moore, however, she is not open to either option. 

We purchased Shore House f/k/a Mathews Crossing on June 29^th and inherited a number of issues which we’ve worked to overcome. 

We hit the ground running shortly after our purchase to address all open issues and continue to communicate our desire to address any issue(s) that might not have been reported and/or overlooked.  Our plan is to renovate the interiors and exteriors of Shore House. 

As our contractors were identified and supplies started arriving, Hurricane Irma hit Jacksonville, thus putting renovations on the back burner as contractors worked to address damage throughout the city.  Exterior renovations really started picking up speed in mid-November and anticipate that we will be close to completion by end of 2^nd quarter 2018. 

Our interior renovations will include an all black appliance package with microwave, brilliant glass backsplash, all new hardware and light fixtures, flooring, paint and framed mirrors in bathrooms. 

Our exterior renovations will include exterior paint and carpentry, railing upgrade, parking lot repair and stripe, upgraded exterior lighting, operational access gates and upgrading and adding to the common area amenities. 

Cox Media Group